Apparatus for handling and storing automobiles



F. P. DINKELBERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING" AND STORING AUTUIOBILES Jan, 6,1931.

R 17,918 15 Sheets-shat. 1

Original Filed Feb.

F. P. DINKELBERG "mums FOR HANDLING AND s-ronme wi-oyosxms Jan."8,'1931. Re. 17,918 J angina; Filed F91:- l9, 1923 13 Sheets-$heet 2 DLINGAND STORING AUTOMOBILES Re. 17,918 Original Filed Feb. 19, 1925 15Sheets-Sheet 3 @QNM F. P. DINKELBERG FOR HANDLING AND sronme AurouoamisAPPARATUS Jan. 6, 1931 r, clri I 1 l llll 17,918 -Sheet Re, 13 Sheets NGAUTOMOBILES v F, P. DINKELBERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORI Jan.

' F.- P. DINKELBERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOMOBILES Rs.17,918 13 Sheets-Sheet 6 I 1 ill. krillti. h hr. 4 Z 1 E C e. I f. r.. f'l C f f I Z .ilml h m E B L E K m D P E APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ANDSTORING AUTOMOBILES -Re. 17,918 13 Sheets-Sheet '7 Original Filed Feb.

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l3 Sheets-Sheet O. a m 8 $1-- E Re. 17,918 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 F. P.DINKELBERG I H II 1/ n I 1/ I 1 j I Feder'zd PDZ IZK Zbe Ofiigihil FiledFeb. 19, 1923 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOIOBiLES Jan; 6,1931.

I F. P. DINKELBERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND s'roRIiG Au'roloamns Jan.6, 1931.

. 17;.918 Original Filed 1923 -.13 shuts-Shoat. 1o

F. P. DINKELB ERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOMOBILESOriginal Filed 1 1923 15 Sheets-Sheet 11 rvderickffizivzkelbercg- Imnlwrw F. P. DINKELBERG APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOIQBIBES13 Sheets-Sheet 12 Jan. 6, 1931.

Original Filed Feb. 19 1923 Re. 17,918 15 Sheets-Sheet 13- F. P.DlNKEL-BERG APPARA';!US FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOIOBILES OriginalFiled Feb. 19, 1925 Jan. 5, 1931.

Reissued Jan. 6, 1931 Re. 17 ,918 g UNITED STATES P-ATENTOFFICE Irnnmimcxr. DINKELBEBG, or EVANSTON, ILLiNoIs, AssIGNon, BY 'MEsNE SSIGN-MENTS, T cnoss PARKING SYSTEMS, me, or CHICAGO, rumors, A, conrona'rr'onOF ILLINOIS APPARATUS ron HANDLING AND sronmenu'romomms Original No.1,584,517,'dated May 11, 1926, Serial No; $0,118, filed February 19,1923. Application for reissue filed February 16, 1928. Serial No.254,918."

This invention relates to an apparatus for handling and storingautomobiles and has for its object to provide a new and improvedefiicient apparatus ofthie description. In view of the large number ofautomobiles now in use and thecongested condition of the streets it isvery desirable to provide some means'of easily, quickly and efiicientlystoring them at points where access to them can be easily and quicklysecured. "The invention has among other objects to provide aneflicient'apparatus by means'of which automobiles of all sizes can beeasily. quickly and efliciently transported and stored in buildingswith'a number of stories or a single story and can be easily and quicklyremoved. Another object of the invention is to providemeans for handlingthe automobiles in a comparatively small space so that they can be movedabout and into and out of their storage spaces quickly and effectivelythereby permitting the storage of a large number of automobiles in ashort time and in a comparatively small space and effectively using suchspace. Another object of the invention is to provide a carrying deviceor truck for efiiciently handling automobiles in a small space which canbe moved under the automobile and will into its storagespace and thenrelease it, the

transporting device itself passing into'the,

storage space to deposit the automobile therein or remove it therefrom.The invention has other objects which are more particularly pointedoutin the followingdescription.

Referring now to the drawings Fig. 1 is a ground floor plan of one formof building showing the method of use of the apparatus; I

Fig. 2 is a typical floor plan above the ground floor; H

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one form of truck used for the handling of theautomobiles;

Figure 4 is ,a side elevation showing the truck under an automobilehaving a short wheel base before the automobile is lifted from thefloor, the automobile being shown in dotted lines; J

1818 ofFig. 10;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing ing one of the cornersections of the truck;

Fig. is a sectional -10.1(l of Fig. 3; 1 Fig. llis an enlargedsectionalview taken online 11'11 of Fig. 3; A

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 1212 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13's an enlarged sectional view taken on line 1313 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 1414 of Fig. 3,;

Fig-15 is a sectional view taken on line 1515 of Fig.8; i

Fig. 16 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 161 6 of Fig 3; e

' Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken on line 17'-17 of Fig. 10; Fig. 18is a sectional view taken on line view taken on line F'g. 19 is alongitudinal sectional view of one of the side members of the truck;

Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic view showing the electrical connections whenthe truck is operated by electricity;

Fig. 21 is a diagrammatic view showing a portion of theelectric-controlling circuits for controlling the movement of the framepieces carrying the wheels and before the movement has started;

Fig. 22 is a view similar to Fig. 21 after the parts have moved toengagethe wheel of the automobile and move one of the automaticswitches;

s Fig. 23 is the same as Fig. 22. wherein the parts have movedsuflicient to move both of the automatic switches;

Fig. 24 is a sectional view through the casing of one of thecontrollingpush button contact switches;

eel

is plan view with parts omitted showing a construction by means of whichthe truck can be moved about its vertical cen- Fig. 26 "is a Ydiagrammatic view showing the device of Fig. 25 indicating thepo'sitionof the v wheelsv when the truck is moving in.

i straight lines;

' the device shown Fig.2!) illustratingthe 30 of.Fig. 28; z I A a r a HFig. 311$ an enlarged perspective viewjo-f 2o Fig. "27 1s a view similarto Fig. '26 show; ing'the position of the wheels when the truck ismovingabout its central yertical i Fig. 28 is an enlarged-view of one end of.

details of the various parts; I v ,1 1

Fig. 29 is a sectional View aken online 29--29 of Fig. 30';

Fig. 30 is a sectional view taken on line the clutch controlling arm v Iv Fig. 32 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig.128.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

Referring nowto the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 Ihave shown-a ground floor'andja" typical 'fioor of a building for storing anto-- mobiles. [I haves'elected for these views a narrow building as being one of the mostdifficult buildings-to use' for storing automobiles efficiently, thenarrow building-being taken for. purposes ofillustration, it-ibeing ofcourse evident that buildings of.,;any

widths, lengths and heights can beused. ,.Re-"

ferring now to the building -1, I 'have' 'shown a central passageway '2through the build ing so that the automobiles may'enterfand pass outwithout interference. 'On the ground floor I have. shown a'landingplatform 3 for passengers. -Whn'the'aii-tomo. j biles come .into thebuilding the passengers step onto this platform from the automo bilesand then pass out of the building.

When'they desireto take the-automobile out. of storage, they walk inonthis pl.atform';tbe

automobile is brought down and they step into it.

Located in the 'buillding are one i or more elevators 4 by means ofwhich 'theeiutomo biles are taken to the upper stories, When theautomobiles come into the buildingthey are placed .upon trucks '5 andhandled by these trucks. Theseltrucks are arranged so that they can bemoved under the automo, biles. ..I have shown in Figs. 1- and 2 forpurposes of illustration-an automobile 6 ,"the

automobile being shown diagrammatically.

The truck 5 is moved "under theautomobile 7 set out.

as shown in Fig. 1, the automobile lifted by the truck from the floorand the automobile is moved into the'elevator and out to'the stor agespace as will be hereinafter more fully One form of truck 'for handlingthe automobiles is shown in Figs. 3 to 20. This truck is provided, withfourwheels 7, one at each corner, said wheels arranged to be rotated tomove the truck, said wheels being also arranged; to rotate aboutavertical axis'to change their position so as to change the direction ofmovement of the truck. In the particularconstruction shown each wheel jis fastened-toa shaft 8 (see Fig. 12) rotatably mounted in a movablesupport 9.

Means is provided formoving' the support 7 to various positions and forrotating the wheels 7" in all the various positions of the support, ,Invthe construction shown,v the movable support '9 .'is mounted in a framepiece 10 and is provided with a gear 11 which is shown as a wormgear,each wheel being provided with one of these gears. Connect-j ed with thegear :11 of each wheel is a driving device 12 which in "this case isshown as a Worm. This worm 12 is 'fastenedto' 'afshort "shaft 13which-is provided with a ipinion 14 (see Fig. 8) driven by a pinion.15ona shaft .16. This shaft-16 has abevelled pinion-1,7 which engages abevelled pinion 18 .on the steering rod 19 having a non-circular. shank199 whichfits into a socket in the removable steering tried section '19provided ,at one end witha steering wheel 20 (see Figs. ,4 and t Inorder to facilitate the steering of'rthe truck I ,preferto provide asteering wheel 5&5 and rod at each corner a of the truck and arrangemeans so thatuanybne steering -rod section 19 .can :be' used atany-corner to control al1 of the wheelsiof .thetruck. In order to securethis result the shaft+16 (see Fig. "-120 extends across the truck anddrives the worms of the two front wheels of the track.- In Figs. 3 and28-1 haveshown two different 1 methods of accomplishing this result. The

arrangement of the one shown in Fig. 3 'is preferred since it brings thesteering appa' ratus within the :body of the truck. 'How} ever;irrespective of where the shafts 2.1 and 21 are mounted, the operationis essentially the same, as willappear. tionto the rear wheelscon'sistingofashaft There is-a eonneo' 21splined to a hollow shaft 21; IThe shaft 21=is provided with a bevel-led gear 22 which engages thebevelledgear23 in Fig. 3- on-the shaft 16. The hollow 'shaft 21 hastabe-v 1 15 elled gear 24 at. one end thereof whiehen:

gages a bevelled gear "25, on the shaft 916 which shaft by means ofpinions 15 drives the shafts 13 and worms 12 ofthe rear wheels. It willthus be seen that by rotating any one of the steering rods 19 all ofthewheels of the truck can be controlled. The steering rods are preferablymounted in brackets 26 which rotate about the shafts 16 and 16 (see Fig.6). These brackets .a're

provided with slots 27 in which works afixed pin 28. The brackets areprovided with notches 29. A pawl 30 has an'end'whic'h "fits in thesenotches and is normally heldtherein. by a spring 30 and is adapted to becon trolled by the foot. This permits the steering rods to'be moved downout'of the way when desired by simply releasing the pawl from the lowernotch and moving the bracket 26 downso that the pawl engages the uppernotch. The movable supports 9 arepreferably provided with ball bearings9 (see Figs. 10 and 12). I prefer to provide an indicator or pointer 31connected with the movable piece 9 which indicates the position of thewheels 7. I also prefer to provide the movable support withanoilreceptacle 32 by means of which the various bearings may be oiledthrough suitable oil passageways.

Some means is provided for driving the wheels 7 of the truck. As hereinshown (see Fig. 12) the shafts 8 with which the wheels 7 are connectedare provided with bevelled gears 33 which engage bevelled gears34,rotatably mounted on the movable support 9. It will thus be seen thatwhen the gears 34 are rotated the wheels 7 will be rotated on theirhorizontal axes. In the construction shown, these bevelled gears 34 arerotated as follows. Engaging each bevelled gear 34 is a'bevelled gear 35mounted on a'short shaft 36 (see Figs. 8, 11 and 12). The short shafts36 are driven from the driving shaft 37 in any suitable manner. Asherein shown this is done by means'of a chain or belt 38 which engagessuitable wheels on the shafts 36 and 37. The shaft 37 (see Figs. 8 and11) is pro vided with a bevelled gear 40 which engages a bevelled gear41 on a short shaft 42 which has a Worm wheel 43 which engages a worm 44on the motor shaft 45 of the motor 46. It will thus be seen that whenthe motor 46 is operated the driving shaft 37 and hence the shaft 36 andbevelled gear 35 will be rotated and this will rotate the bevelled gear33 and the shaft 8 and hence the wheel 7. The shaft 37 extends acrossthe truck (see Fig. 20) and there are similar connections from it toeach of the Wheels at opposite sides of the truck. There is a similarmotor 46 at the other end of the truck (see Figs. 3 and 20) which drivesa shaft 37 which has similar connections to the other wheels of thetruck. It will thus be seen that if the motor 46 is operated the frontset of wheels will be rotated about their horizontal axes to move thetruck and that when the motor 46 is in operation the wheels at the otherend of the truck will be rotated to move the truck. These motors arecontrolled as hereinafter set out.

The frame pieces 10 which form the corners ofthe truck in the particularconstruction shown are connected together in any suitable manner. Asherein shown they are connected together by the end members 47 and theside members 48, said members being preferably made up of plates orthelike so as to secure a light, strong construction.

The end members 47 carry the motors 46 and 46. The side members 48 areconnected togetherby the connecting pieces 49. The

corner frame pieces '10 are movable and can be moved outwardly away fromthe side pieces 48 but in alignment therewith as will be hereinaftermore fully explained. Connected'with these frame pieces are the engagingpieces 50 which are adapted to be forced under the wheels of theautomobile to lift it from'the ground. These engaging pieces are The f10. The frame pieces as herein shown have plates 58 bolted thereto (seeFigs. 9,11 and 12) which cover up the'grooves'in the frame pieceslO soasto hold the rack'bars 53 in place. 'By removing these plates the rackbars are accessible. It will be seen that by rotating thepinions 54 inone direction the rack bars and hence the engagingpie'ces 50 will bepushedout so as to engage the wheels of the automobile and lift themfrom the floor and when said pinions are rotated in the op positedirection the rack bars and hence the engaging pieces 50 will beretracted to the position'shown in Fig. 3. The pinions 54 are operatedas hereinafter described.

)Vhen automobiles with a short Wheel base are to be loaded on the'truckthe truck is moved under the automobile and the rack bars moved out soas to causethe engaging pieces 50 to engage the wheels and lift themfromthe floor. WVhen cars with along wheel base are to be lifted, inorder to prevent the long leverage on the rack bars the fran'ie pieces10 are moved outwardly the desired distance and then the rack bars aremoved as before set out. These frame pieces are moved outwardly byhaving the motors 46 and 46 operating in opposite directions and thewheels 7 connected therewith. Under these conditions one set of frame 11ieces moves out in one direction and the other in the other direction.There must, however, be some equalizing mechanism arranged so that whenthe movement is completed the frame pieces at each end wil'l'be equallydistant from the endsof the side members. I have illustrated onemechanism for this purpose as follows. As 1618111 shown, these cornerframe pieces carrying the wheels 7 have connected with them suitablerack bars by means of which they may be moved. In the con structionshown, said corner frame pieces ha e connected with them the channelshaped members 59 (see Figs. 10, 16, 17 and 13). These channel shapedmembers have cornected to their sides the grooved bars 60 in which workthe rollers 61 connected with the side pieces of side ;members, saidroll ers acting :as )friction reducing'supports when :the corner framepieces are moved;

Connected withithe channel shaped members 59 are rack bars 63whichenga'ge a gear c4 mounted on-ashaft 65carried in bearingsj66connected -withthe.side pieces 62.;It will-be noted that when the gears64 are rotated'the j channel shaped members 59' are moved. outwardlyequally sons to move the corner 110' outwardly the desired d stInce,-asfor example-to the position shown in I Fig. 6. The .gearB-is heldagainst rotation by =somersuitable .mechanism so as to hold thepartsiinany desired POSltlOll. As here1n .fil10WI1,-ai00llh engagingpart67 is slidably mounted in ;a holder'68-and is controlled by a 'bellcrank lever 69, one end of which entors .an opening in the toothengaging part.

The otherend' of the bell crank lever is connected withacore 5700f thesolenoid? 1. In

view of .theifactzthat the gear 64 should be lockedmost of the time andneedsto be unlockedlonly on special occasions such as when r itis=clesired tomove out the frame pieces 10,

I have arranged t-he parts so that the tooth engaging part normallyengages the teethwith the gear. When it isdesired to lock the gear thesolenoid is deenergized and the spring 72 movesthe-core ofthesolenoid-back to its initial position and moves the tooth engagingpart6? intoengagement with one of the teeth .of the gear 64. Thesolenoid 71 and associated parts are I mounted upon the bracket 73(seeFig. 18'),

which projects between the upper and lower grooved bars and. is attachedto the side pieces 62. j

When the .device is placed -under an automobile with along wheel basethe frame pieces 10 must first be moved outwardly. This is done byoperating the motors 46 and-46 in opposite directions and connectingthem with the wheels 7, and moving the tooth engagil'iggparts 67 out ofengagement with the gear 64. It will be readily understood that it wouldbe somewhat difficult to placethe device exactly under the middle of thecar so that ithe frame pieces 10 at eachend would only be required to bemoved out the samedistance to bring them in proper positionwith'relation to the wheels. With the construction herein shown this isnot necessary because if the device is nearer one set of wheels 'thanthe other and one set of frame pieces '10 strikes the wheels first sothat it cannot be moved further out, .as shown for tion whereinthe shaftof the gear-64 ,is-conple .i F-ige ln w wr t side members '48 to .movein the direction" of the other set of "wheelsnntil the frame pieces 10come into the zproperpositiomand whenin this position these frame pieceswill project substantially the same distance froma-the ends ofthe'sidemembe'rs. v .1;

lhis equalization of projection of these frame piecesis brought about bythe construcnected with the sidemembers 48, for-when one set of framepieces are-stopped by the wheels so; as'to produce -a;.r =.-.sistancethe con:

tinued rotation of the. gear 64; causes such ge'ar to travel along oneof the :rac-kbars for'the frame pieces, thus ca-rrving the side memberswith it, the rackbars 'o-fthe-other set of frame pieces being projected,onlyihalf as fast as they would be-i'f the side members werestationary, the result beingthat when both sets of frame piecesare inproper relation tothe wheelsthe side members areunder the-middle of thecarand theframe pieces project therefrom substantially-equalamounts.This. permit-s the device-to be placed under the-,carin any position andobviates the necessity of careful placementvthereo f, thus making iteasy for anyone to usethe' device. f

' I The gear 64 and the -racksi59 in addition to acting as an equalizingmechanism *for securingequal projection of the racks-at each end of thedevice also actas a; locking device; When the engaging pieces -.50 arebeing puShedunder the wheels of the automobile there is abackward-pressure which tends to move the frame pieces'flO towards eachother but when the tooth engaging piece 67 engages the teeth of the gear64 this locksthe parts against movement due to this pressurev and :holdsthe frame pieces in their proper" position. When this tooth engaging.part is in position it alsoflocksthe frame pieces 10 when the truck ismoved from one place to another. I may connect the variousparts of theoperating mechanism with the-"motors in, any

suitable manner. I prefer, however tomake purpose I have shown-a seriesof electr'ically controlled clutches for making the various connections.These clutches I have shown as controlled by solenoids. In Fig. .20 Ihave shown the wiring diagrammatically so fiS-TO Figs. 8,12, 14 and '15.When the motor (in this instance the motor .46) is operated, the belt 38(see Fig. 8) is operating and this oper? the device moreor'lessautomatic and for this ates the-sprocket wheel 74 see Fig. 12) which isrotatably mounted .jupon ithe stub shaft 175.

. times while the motor is rotating and cooperates with the nonrotatingclutch member 77. The clutch member 76 has pivoted there-with movablemembers 78 (see Fig. 15) having the springs 79 connected with the endsthereof, which tend to move them. inwardly towards each other so as tocause the engaging projections 80 thereon to engage the engaging members81 on the shaft 36 (see Fig. 15). The movable members 78 have theirfaces inclined projections 78 (see Figs. 12 and 15). The clutch member77 has annular projec tion 77 having an inclined face engaging theinclined faces of the projections Y8 12) VJ hen the clutch member 77 ismoved to the right the annular projection 7" engaging the bevelled facesof the projections 78 move the movable engaging members 78 about theirpivots so as to disconnect them from the engaging pro-jections 81 andhold them in this position, thus disconnecting the stub shaft and theshaft 36. When the engaging projections engage the engaging projections81, the stub shaft 75 and the shaft 36 are operatively connected andthis operatively connects the wheel 7 with the motor. The otherwheels'are connected in a similar manner by similar mechanism. ber 77 iscontrolled by a bell crank lever 82 (see Fig. 12) having a bifurcatedarm83 (see- Fig. 14) which has pins 84 which engage the clutch member 77.The bell crank lever 82 is connected with the core 85 of the solenoid86. When this solenoid is energized the bell crank lever 82 is moved soas to move the clutch members '7? to the left (Fig. 12) so as to causethe annular projection 77* to disengage the member ?8 whereupon saidmembers are moved about their pivots and engage the projections 80,thereby connecting the shaft 36 with the motor. When the solenoid 86 isdeenergized the springs 77 move the member 77 to the right (Fig. 12) soas to disengage said members 78 from the engaging projections 81,thereby disconnecting the shaft 36 from the motor. The engagingprojections 80 are so shaped that when they are moved out to becomedisengaged from the projections 81 they fall away from such projectionsso that there will be no frictional resistance, thus making thismovement easy. I have shown the solenoids 86 so that when they areenergized the clutches they control are in such position as to connectthe wheels? with the motor but I may arrange these solenoids to workjust the opposite way-that is, so that when they are deenergized theclutch is in such position as to connectthe wheels 7 with the motor andwhen they are energized the clutches move to disconnect the wheels 7from the motor.

The clutch meni The engaging parts 50 which engage the wheels of theautomobile are moved out b the following mechanism. The motor sha t 37(see Fig. 11) has keyed to it the sprocket wheel 88 which drives thechain or belt 38. This shaft has associated with it a clutch having aclutch member 89. The shaft 55 whichv carries the pinion 54: whichengages the rack bar 53 connected with the engaging piece 50 is providedwith a non-rotating clutch member 90 which has pivotally connectedtherewith the movable engaging members 91 to which are connected thesprings 92. The members 91 are provided with the engaging projections 93which are adapted to engage the engaging projections 94: on the shaft55, and are also provided on their faces with projections 91 havingbevelled faces (Fig. 11). The clutch member 90 is provided with anannular projection 90 which has a bevelled face which engages thebevelled faces of the projections 91 when the member 90 is moved to theright (Fig. 11) thus moving themembers 91 about their pivots so as todis engage them from the engaging projections 92 on the shaft 55. Theclutch member 90 is held in this disenga ing position by the springs90". The clutc member 90 is moved by means of a bell crank lever 95 (seeFigs. 11 and 14). One end of this bell crank lever consists of a.bifurcated arm 96. This bifurcated arm is provided with pins 97 whichengage the clutch member 90. The-bell crank lever is controlled by asolenoid 98 (see Fig. 11). When the solenoid is energized the bell cranklever is moved to move the clutch member 90 to the left (Fig. 11) so asto release the members 91 and permit them to engage the projections 92,thusconnecting the shaft 55 with the motor. lVhen the solenoid is de-.energized the springs 9O move the member 90 so as to move the members 91out of engagement with the projections 92, thereby disconnecting theshaft 55 from the motor. The rotation ofthis shaft moves the rack bars53 and the engaging parts 50, the direction of motion depending upon thedirection of rotation of the motor. It is understood of course thatthere is a solenoid and clutch arrangement for each one of the engagingdevices 50.

In Figs. 25 to 32 I have shown a construction whereby the truck can bemoved or ro-, tated about a vertical axis through its center and at thesame time all of its wheels 7 can be controlled by any one steeringwheel. In this construction some means must be provided for moving thewheels 7 at one end of the truck to opposite inclinations as shown forexample in Fig. 28. One means of securing this result consistsofdividing the shaft 16 be yelled flgears 99 and'100. :These bevelledgears aresplinedto the shaft and are adapted to 'be moved towards andfrom each other. Connected to these gears are the engaging teeth ormembers which are connected together when the gears are moved towardseach'other so as to make both sections of the shaft rotate together.Located between these gears is another bevelled gear-103 which isslidable upon a short shaft 104. Connected with the hub of the gear 103is a bifurcated shiftinglever'l05- (seeFig. This shifting lever en agesthe spring member 106 which tends to hold it against movement and isconnected with a shaft 107. As shown in Fig. 29,

for example, the spring member 106 has openings106 and 106 and theshifting lever has a projection 105. hen the shifting member'is in oneposition this'projecti'on enters one of these openings and when in the.other position this'projection enters theother opening and this preventsthe accidental movement of the shifting lever. This shaft extends to thesides of the truck and" at each end: has connectedztherewith, the. footlever 108 (seeF'igs. 28'and-32). The gears 99 and.

100 are provided with bell crank shiftin levers 109 and which are.connected with the-rings llland 112'on the hubs of the. gears 99 and100. These shifting levers are also connected with thehub of the"gear'103 (see Figs; 28 and 30) so'that" when the ear 103 (seeFig. 28) ismovedto the right t e gears 99 and 100 will be moved towards each otherto connect the two sections of the shaft 16 togetherand when the ear103" ismoved to the left'the gears 99 an 100 will be separated by theshifting'devices so that the gear 103 will pass in between them andengage them as shown in Fig. 28.

I make the connection between the shifting levers 109 and. 110 and thehub of the gear 103m such manner as to permit the gear 103 to be moved ashort distance from between .j the gears 99 and 100 before said lattergears are moved towardseach other. Thisis accomplished by providingseparate members 113 and 114 which are connected to the rotating ring115 in the hub of the gear 103 and which are connected respectively withthe shifting'levers 109 and 110 by means of a pin and slot connection asshown at 116, one

. of'the members having a pin and the. other a slot so that there is acertain amountv of lost T motion before the gears 99 and 100 begin tomove towards each other. When it is desired, for example, to move thewheels 7 keeping them parallel to each other, the opera- :tor puts hisfoot on the end 117 ofthe lever 108 and this through the shifting lever105 moves the gear 103 out from between the gears 99-and 100 and movessaid latter gears towards each other" to connect the engaging v parts101 and 102. The two sections of the shaft" 16 are then connected sothat when the steering wheel is rotated they will be rotated together,that is, as one shaft, and the wheels 7 will be moved in parallelrelation. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 25. When it is desired tomove the wheels 7 to an angular will move in an arc of a circle or acomplete circle, the center of which is-the vertical centralaxis of thetruck. The motors at the two ends must of course be rotated in theproper direction. to rotate all of these wheels in a direction indicatedby the arrow in Fig. 27. In Fig. 25, for example, the wheels 7: areshown so that the truck may be run in a straight line in eitherdirection, that is toward or away from the top ofthe sheet. In Fig. 26the wheels 7 are turned at right angles so that the truck can be run ina direction at right angles to that it is running in in Fig. 25, whilein Fig. 27 the wheels are turned at an angle to each other and in suchposition that the truck can be rotated in a circle about'its centralvertical axis.

When it is desired to turn the wheels as shown in Fig. 27 to run in acircular direction they are first turned to the position shown in Fig.25 and then the'foot lever is pressed and the wheels are then turned tothe position shown in Fig. 27. This only requires the wheels to beturned a small amount, that is through an angle of forty-five degrees,as will be seen by comparing Fig. 27- with Fig. 25 and noting thedistance the bevelled gears 33 have been moved. If the two motors arenow run in the reverse directions, as indicated by the arrows, in Fig.27, the. entire truck will be moved in a circular direction about itscentral vertical axis. If, now, it is desired, to run the truck in the.

ordinary way in straight, lines, .the steeringv wheel must be moved soas to turn the wheels back to the parallel positions as shown in Fig. 25before the foot lever is pressed to disengage the gear 103 from thegears 99 and 100 and connect the two parts of the shaft 16 together. Thereason for this is that when the two sections of shaft 16 are connectedtogether the rotation of the hand wheel always moves the associatedwheels in parallel relation and hence to operate, properly they mustfirst be put in parallel relation before being controlled in thismanner. Fig.

25 shows the wheels when the truck is moving inone straight lineposition and Fig. 26 when they are moving in a straight line posiiaotion at right anglestlieretol These positions and any intermediatepositions are brought about when the two parts of tlie'shaft 16 areconnected together." As thefram'e-p'ieces are moved out the wheels mustbe moved'todifferentangles in order to rotate the truck about itscentral vertical axis. This is due to the fact that the wheels when the.frame pieces are moved out do not move outradially=but move ina straightline forward or backward. The operator cannot properly position thesewheels simply by the indicator 31because he does not know the angularposi tion they must be placed in these various posi+ tions. Some meansmust therefore-be provided for indicating thecorrect position of thesewheels, to secure the circular rotation in'the various positions of theframe pieces. I have shown one means for-this purpose. In' thisconstructiontheindicators 31 which are connected with the wheels 7 toindicate their position each have associated therewith.

a second indicator 120.- The indicators 31 are fixed with relationto thewheels whereas the indicators120 are movable and are prefer ably mountedupon a pivot 121. These indicators each have an inwardly projecting arm122 which is connected by a flexible connec ing piece 123 with a spoolor drum 124 located i at the'center of the truck as'shown for example inFig. 28. I There are four of these indicators 120, one for each wheel,all four being connected by the flexible connecting device with thespool or drum 124. This spool or drum is preferably provided with aspring or other suitable device which autom'atically winds the flexibleconnecting pieces 123 thereon when the frame members are moved towardthe center of the truck permits their automaticunwinding when the framepieces 10 are moved away from the center of the truck. With thisconstruction when the frame pieces 10 are moved out the indicators 120since they are connected with the center 4 of the trucli will always bein the position inwhich the wheels must be placed to secure the circularmotion and hence whatever the position of the frame pieces 10 it is onlynecessary to move the wheels 7 so' that the indicator 31 is parallelwith the indicator 120 and whenthis is done and the wheels 7 rotated thetruck will rotate about its centralverticalaxis. I may make these twoindicators of different colors so asto make it easier to manipulate themand to see when they are in proper parallel relat1on; l The motors arecontrolled byany of the ordinary controllers, one of which 1 have shownat 125, Fig. 20, this being shown as a double controller, the circuitsbeing controlled by the levers 126 and 127. The motors are connectedtoany desired source of electrical supply. When the levers are moved awayfrom each other as shown in-full lines inFigf the motors are rotatedinopposite ers when the frame pieces 10 and'the engaging-pieces'50 aremoved out. lVh'enthe levers are moved towards each other as shown indotted lines in Fig. 20, the directions of rotation ofthe motors arereversed but they are still rotating in opposite directions. lVhen it isdesired to have the motors rotate'in the same direction the two leversare. moved so as v to bepara'llel, that is, in the position indicated byonedotted line lever and one f-ullline lever in Fig.20. I prefer toprovide an automatic arrangement by means of which when the framepieces10 and the wheel engaging pieces are moved-out they will beautomatically stopped when they reach the proper limit of their movementnecessary to lift the automobile from the floor. I have shown onearrangement of electrically securing this result, the circuits beingshown diagrammatically in Figs. 20 to 24 inclusive. In this constructionthe solenoidsand 98 are controlled by the push'buttons 128 and 129. Iprefer to provide an automatic push button arrangement, one form ofwhich is shown in Fig. 24. In this construction the push button 128 isconnected by the bar 130 with the cores 131 and 132 of the solenoids 133and134. These cores are adaptedto cooperate with electrical contacts 135ancl'136. By means of the push buttons these cores are pushed intocontact directions. I This is the postion of these levwith electricalcontacts 135 and 136 and this completes the circuit through thesolenoids 86 and 133 and 134. The solenoids 133 and 134 then hold thesecores in their circuit come pleting positions. When the solenoids aredeenergizedthe cores are retracted by the springs 137 and 138.

The push button 129 for controlling the solenoids 98 and the clutchwhich causes-the wheel engaging parts 50 to bemovedout is arranged in amanner similar to the push button 128. It is connected with the bar 139(see Fig. 20) which bar is pivotally connected with the cores 140 and141 of'the solenoids 142 and 143, the movement of the cores of whichconnects the contacts 144 and 145.

Referring now to the circuits for the solenoids 86 (see Figs. 20 to 23)and starting from the source of electric supply 147, this sourceofelectric supply is connected by a conductor 148 which leads to thepoint 149 where it divides, one branch 150 going to one solenoid 86 andthe other branch 151 leading to the other solenoid 86 at the same end ofthe truck. A conductor 152 leads from this solenoid and joins with aconductor 153 leading from the first mentioned solenoid and which isconnected with aswitch 154 which in this instance is showndiagrammatically as a pivoted arm. This-switch cooperates with contacts155 and 156 which are connected together by a conductor 157, saidconductor being connected bya conductor 158 with one of

